Bhubaneswar, June 19: BJD leaders today expressed hope that former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam having pulled out of the presidential race, the NDA would come round to the idea of supporting former Speaker P.A. Sangma, whom the party is backing.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed. We fervently hope and wish that the NDA takes a decision in favour of Sangma,” said a senior BJD leader, adding that chief minister Naveen Patnaik had been right in throwing his weight behind the tribal veteran from Meghalaya.

The ruling party leaders also discounted the possibility of Sangma opting out of the race at the last moment under pressure from his own party, the National Congress Party (NCP). “We are aware that he is under pressure from his party and also from the Congress as his daughter happens to be a minister in the UPA government. But given the kind of determination he has shown so far, we are confident that he will stay till the end,” said a senior BJD leader who had played a role in breaking the state NCP unit after its four MLAs joined the ruling party.

Sources said that Naveen was in high spirits with chances of a direct contest between Sangma and UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee becoming bright in the wake of Kalam’s withdrawal from the fray.

He is believed to have spoken to the leaders of some other political parties including his Tamil Nadu counterpart Jayalalithaa, who along with him had mooted Sangma’s name originally.

Political observers see Kalam’s decision to pull out of the presidential race as a stroke of luck for Sangma and the parties backing him.